U.  S.  DEPARTMENT  OF  AGRICULTURE. 

OFFICE  OF  EXPERIMENT  STATIONS— BULLETIN  NO.  146. 

A.  C.  TRUE,  Director. 


CURRENT   WHEELS 

THEIR  USE  IN  LIFTING  WATER 
FOR  IRRIGATION. 


JEPT. 


DRY 


PREPARED  IN  THE  OFFICE  OF  EXPERIMENT  STATIONS, 
IRRIGATION  INVESTIGATIONS. 


WASHINGTON: 

GOVERNMENT    PRINTING    OFFICE. 
1904. 


LIST  OF  PUBLICATIONS  OF  THE  OFFICE  OF  EXPERIMENT  STATIONS  ON 
IRRIGATION  AND  DRAINAGE. 

Note. — For  those  publications  to  which  a  price  is  affixed  application  should  be 
made  to  the  Superintendent  of  Documents,  Government  Printing  Office,  Washington, 
D.  C,  the  officer  designated  by  law  to  sell  Government  publications.  Publications 
marked  with  an  asterisk  (*)  are  not  available  for  distribution. 

*Bul.    36.  Notes  on  Irrigation  in  Connecticut  and  New  Jersey.     By  C.  S.  Phelps  and 

E.  B.  Voorhees.     Pp.  64.     Price,  10  cents. 
Bui.    58.  Water  Rights  on  the  Missouri  River  and  its  Tributaries.     By  ElwoodMead. 

Pp.  80.     Price,  10  cents. 
Bui.    60.  Abstract  of  Laws  for  Acquiring  Titles  to  Water  from  the  Missouri  River 

and  its  Tributaries,  with  the  Legal  Forms  in  Use.     Compiled  by  El  wood 

Mead.     Pp.  77.     Price,  10  cents. 
Bui.    70.  Water-Right  Problems  of  Bear  River.     By  Clarence  T.  Johnston  and 

Joseph  A.  Breckons.     Pp.  40.     Price,  15  cents. 
Bui.    73.  Irrigation  in  the  Rocky  Mountain  States.     By  J.  C.  Ulrich.     Pp.64.     Price, 

10  cents. 

Bui.    81.  The  Use  of  Water  in  Irrigation  in  Wyoming.     By  B.  C.  Buff  urn.     Pp.  56. 

Price,  10  cents. 
*Bul.    86.  The  Use  of  Water  in  Irrigation.     Report  of  investigations  made  in  1899, 

under  the  supervision  of  Elwood  Mead,  expert  in  charge,  and  C.  T. 

Johnston,  assistant.     Pp.253.     Price,  30  cents. 
Bui.    87.  Irrigation  in  New  Jersey.    By  Edward  B.  Voorhees.    Pp.40.    Price,  5  cents. 
*Bul.    90.  Irrigation  in  Hawaii.     By  Walter  Maxwell.     Pp.  48.     Price,  10  cents. 
Bui.    92.  The  Reservoir  System  of  the  Cache  la  Poudre  Valley.     By  E.  S.  Nettleton. 

Pp.  48.     Price,  15  cents. 
Bui.    96.  Irrigation  Laws  of  the  Northwest  Territories  of  Canada  and  of  Wyoming, 

with  Discussions  by  J.  S.  Dennis,  Fred  Bond,  and  J.  M.  Wilson.     Pp.  90. 

Price,  10  cents. 
Bui.  100.  Report  of  Irrigation  Investigations  in  California,  under  the  direction  of 

Elwood  Mead,  assisted  by  William  E.  Smythe,  Marsden  Manson,  J.  M. 

Wilson,  Charles  D.  Marx,  Frank  Soule,  C.  E.  Grunsky,  Edward M.  Boggs, 

and  James  D.  Schuyler.     Pp.  411.     Price,  cloth,  $1.25;  paper,  90  cents. 
*Bul.  104.  The  Use  of  Water  in  Irrigation.     Report  of  investigations  made  in  1900, 

under  the  supervision  of  Elwood  Mead,  expert  in  charge,  and  C.  T. 

Johnston,  assistant.     Pp.  334.     Price,  50  cents. 
Bui.  105.  Irrigation  in  the  United  States.     Testimony  of  Elwood  Mead,  irrigation 

expert  in  charge,  before  the  United  States  Industrial  Commission  June 

11  and  12,  1901.     Pp.  47.     Price,  15  cents. 

Bui.  108.  Irrigation  Practice  among  Fruit  Growers  on  the  Pacific  Coast.     By  E.  J. 

Wickson.     Pp.  54.     Price,  15  cents. 
Bui.  113.  Irrigation  of  Rice  in  the  United  States.     By  Frank  Bond  and  George  II. 

Keeney.     Pp.  77.     Price,  30  cents. 
Bui.  118.  Irrigation  from  Big  Thompson  River.     By  John  E.  Field.     Pp.75.     Price, 
10  cents. 
*Bul.  119.  Report  of  Irrigation  Investigations  for  1901,  under  the  direction  of  Elwood 
Mead,  chief.     Pp.401.     Price,  50  cents. 

[Continued  on  third  page  of  cover.] 


i 


1 


706 


U.  S.   DEPARTMENT   OF  AGRICULTURE. 

OFFICE  OF  EXPERIMENT  STATIONS— BULLETIN  NO.  146. 

A.   C.  TRUE,    Director. 


CURRENT    AVHEELS: 

THEIR  USE  IN  LIFTING  WATER 
FOR  IRRIGATION. 


PREPARED  IN  THE  OFFICE  OF  EXPERIMENT  STATIONS. 
IRRIGATION  INVESTIGATIONS 


WASHINGTON: 

GOVERNMENT     PRINTING     OFFICE. 

1904. 


OFFICE  OF  EXPERIMENT  STATIONS. 

A.  C.  True,  Ph.  D.,  Director. 

E.  W.  Allen,  Ph.  D.,  Assistant  Director. 

IRRIGATION    INVESTIGATIONS. 

Elwood  Mead,  Chief. 
R.  P.  Teele,  Editorial  Assistant. 
C.  E.  Tait,  Assistant,  in  Charge  of  Central  District. 
Sam tel  Fortier,  Irrigation  Engineer,  in  Charge  of  Pacific  District. 
C.  G.  Elliott,  Engineer,  in  Charge  of  Drainage  Investigations. 
2 


LETTER  OF  TRANSMITTAL. 


U.  S.  Department  of  Agriculture, 

Office  of  Experiment  Stations. 

Washington,  I).  0.,  May  10,  190 % 
Sir:  I  have  the  honor  to  transmit  herewith  a  report  on  the  use  of 
current  wheels  for  raising  water  for  irrigation,  and  to  recommend  its 
publication  as  a  bulletin  of  this  Office. 

Very  respectfully,  A.  C.  True, 

Director. 
Hon.  James  Wilson, 

Secretary  of  AgricuLtun . 

3 


LETTER  OF  SUBMITTAL 


U.  S.  Department  of  Agriculture, 

Office  of  Experiment  Stations, 

Washington,  I).  <?.,  May  10,  190 Jh 

Sir:  I  have  the  honor  to  submit  herewith  a  report  describing  a  large 
number  of  current  wheels  in  use  in  the  arid  West  and  in  Italy. 

Current  wheels  are  often  the  cheapest  means  of  raising  small  vol- 
umes of  water  short  distances  where  much  larger  volumes  are  flowing 
b}'.  A  wheel  can  lift  only  a  small  percentage  of  the  water  passing  [^ 
and  the  cost  of  construction  increases  so  rapidly  with  increased  size 
that  the  large  wheels  necessary  for  high  lifts  can  not  be  profitably 
built.  But  there  are  many  places  along  streams  and  the  upper  sections 
of  canals  where  enough  water  for  a  few  acres  can  be  lifted  a  few  feet 
with  almost  no  cash  outlay  and  without  injury  to  the  lower  users, 
except  for  the  small  quantity  of  water  taken. 

The  great  advantage  of  current  wheels  is  their  extreme  cheapness  of 
construction  and  operation  where  conditions  are  favorable.  A  farmer 
of  ordinary  ingenuity,  having  a  few  tools,  can  usually  build  a  wheel, 
principally  from  materials  which  are  lying  around  his  buildings,  with 
little  or  no  cash  outlay.  If  the  wheel  is  well  built,  the  cost  of  opera- 
tion will  be  limited  to  the  purchase  of  oil  and  the  making  of  repairs. 
However,  the  obtaining  of  the  best  results  depends  upon  the  obser- 
vance of  correct  principles  in  the  construction  of  the  wheels,  but  the 
following  of  these  principles  involves  no  increased  expense.  The 
report  herewith  submitted  contains  a  discussion  of  the  theory  of  cur- 
rent wheels  and  descriptions,  photographs,  and  drawings  of  a  large 
number  of  wheels  now  in  use,  with  discussions  which  bring  out  their 
good  and  bad  features.  The  territory  from  which  information  has 
been  gathered  embraces  five  States:  Prof.  S.  Fortier,  of  Berkeley, 
Gal.,  furnishes  the  data  regarding  wheels  in  California;  C.  G.  Elliott, 
engineer,  in  charge  of  drainage  investigations,  collected  the  informa- 
tion from  Washington;  Prof.  J.  S.Baker,  of  the  Montana  Agricultural 
Experiment  Station,  from  Idaho;  E.  R.  Morgan,  agent  and  expert  in 
irrigation  investigations,  from  Utah;  C.  E.  Tait  and  Arthur  P.  Stover, 
assistants  in  irrigation  investigations,  from  Colorado;  and  El  wood 
Mead,  chief  of  irrigation  investigations,  from  Italy.  The  discussion 
of  the  theory  of  current  wheels  and  of  the  wheels  described  was  pre- 
pared by  Albert  Eugene  Wright,  agent  and  expert. 

The  publication  of  this  report  as  a  bulletin  of  the  Office  of  Experi- 
ment Stations  is  recommended. 

Respectfully  submitted. 

Elwoop  Mead, 

Chief  of  h  'r'njation  In  instigation  s. 
A.  C.  True,  Director. 

4 


CONTENTS. 


Page. 

Construction  of  current  wheels 7 

Theory  of  power  in  current  wheels 7 

Theoretical  calculation  of  efficiency 8 

Practical  operations 9 

Examples  of  wheels  in  actual  use 10 

Wheels  on  the  South  Platte  at  Denver 11 

A  big  wheel  in  Grand  River  Valley,  Colorado 12 

Cheap  structures  in  Washington,  Utah,  and  Colorado 13 

A  contrast  in  cost  of  two  Washington  wheels 15 

Design  by  a  mining  engineer 17 

Construction  for  a  swift  current  in  Idaho 17 

Direct-lift  wheels  in  Idaho 18 

W heels  for  running  pumps 19 

Chain-and-bucket  gears 20 

Italian  current  wheels 21 

5 


ILLUSTRATIONS 


PLATES. 

Page. 

Plate  I.  Fig.  1.  Current  wheel,   Farmers  and  Gardeners'  Ditch,  Colorado. — 

Fig.  2.  Wheel  near  Morgan  City,  Utah 14 

II.  Fig.  1.  Wheel  on  Yakima  River,   Washington. — Fig.  2.  Wheel  in 

Fancher  Creek  Nursery,  Fresno,  Cal 16 

III.  Wheel  operating  a  rotary  pump,  Yakima  River,  Washington 18 

IV.  Chain  and  bucket  operated  by  overshot  wheel,  Selah,  Wash 20 

TEXT  FIGURES. 

Fig.     1.  Diagrams  of  current  wheels  with  paddles  set  at  various  angles 22 

2.  Wheel  on  Grand  Valley  Canal,  Colorado 23 

3.  Flume  and  brush  guards  for  wheel  on  Grand  Valley  Canal,  Colorado.  24 

4.  Wheel  on  Farmers  and  Gardeners'  Ditch,  Colorado 24 

5.  Wheel  at  North  Yakima,  Wash 25 

6.  Lifting  device  for  small  wheel 1 25 

7.  Wheel  near  Morgan  City,  Utah 26 

8.  Wheel  in  Lower  Natchez  Valley,  Washington 27 

9.  Wheel  on  South  Platte  River,  near  mouth  of  Bear  Creek,  Colorado. .  28 

10.  Wheel  on  Yakima  River,  Washington 29 

1 1 .  Wheel  in  Fancher  Creek  Nursery,  Fresno,  Cal 30 

1 2.  Wheel  on  Lost  River,  Idaho 31 

13.  Lifting  device  for  current  wheel  on  Lost  River,  Idaho 31 

1 4.  Kind  of  wheel  in  Payette  Valley,  Idaho . 32 

15.  Framing  for  flume  for  wheel  shown  in  fig.  14 33 

16.  Framework  and  raising  apparatus  for  wheel  shown  in  tig.  14 34 

1 7.  Details  of  wheel  shown  in  fig.  14 35 

18.  Current  wheel  operating  pump  in  Payette  Valley,  Idaho 36 

19.  Framing  and  gearing  for  wheel  shown  in  fig.  18 37 

20.  Wheel  in  Yakima  Valley,  Washington 38 

21 .  Chain  and  bucket  operated  by  current  wheel 38 

6 


CURRENT  WHEELS:  THEIR  USE  IN  LIFTING  WATER 
FOR  IRRIGATION. 


CONSTRUCTION  OF  CURRENT  WHEELS. 

The  practical  experience  of  many  irrigators  in  the  construction  and 
use  of  current  wheels  has  been  collected  and  is  here  presented  as  an 
answer  to  inquiries  regarding  their  cost  and  efficiency. 

In  its  simplest  form  a  current  wheel  consists  of  a  large  skeleton 
roller  made  of  wood,  with  paddles  projecting  beyond  its  rim.  It  is 
hung  on  a  shaft  and  supported  at  both  ends  by  piers  or  posts,  so  as  to 
allow  the  wheel  to  dip  into  the  water  to  the  width  of  the  paddles. 
The  simplest  device  for  raising  water  with  such  a  wheel  is  a  row  of 
buckets  placed  on  the  rim  so  as  to  iill  at  the  bottom  of  the  wheel  and 
empty  into  a  trough  near  the  top.  A  more  complicated  way  is  to 
connect  the  wheel  to  chain  and  bucket  gear,  or  to  a  pump  of  some  sort. 
These  more  difficult  methods  of  construction  are  necessary  in  all  cases 
where  it  is  desired  to  raise  the  water  to  a  height  greater  than  the 
diameter  of  the  wheel  used. 

THEORY  OF  POWER  IN  CURRENT  WHEELS. 

AVhile  a  homemade  undershot  water  wheel  develops  but  little  of 
the  power  in  a  running  stream,  still  the  action  of  the  crudest  wheel  is 
governed  by  certain  principles,  an  understanding  of  which  will  aid 
the  builder  in  improving  the  design  of  his  wheel,  thereby  increasing 
its  efficiency. 

Current  wheels,  unlike  overshot  wheels,  do  not  act  by  the  weight  of 
the  water,  but  by  the  impulse  or  dynamic  pressure  of  moving  water. 
The  power  contained  in  running  water  is  expressed  in  terms  of  the 
distance  throuo-h  which  the  water  would  have  to  fall  in  order  to  attain 
the  velocity  observed.  This  distance  is  called  the  velocity  head.  A 
body  falling  f  reel y  4  feet  attains  a  velocity  of  16  feet  per  second.  Hence 
water  flowing  16  feet  per  second  has  a  velocity  head  of  4  feet.  In 
other  words,  if  an  inclined  plane  were  placed  in  such  a  stream,  the 
water  would  run  up  it  to  the  height  of  1  feet  before  coming  to  rest. 
Thus  the  power  contained  in  1,000  pounds  of:  water  running  16  feet 
per  second  is  exactly  sufficient  to  raise  a  weight  of  1,000  pounds  -1  feet. 
This  weight  may  or  may  not  consist  of  the  moving  water  itself.  The 
usual  velocity  in  streams  is  from  1  to  1  feet  per  second,  representing 
velocity  heads  of  from  one-fourth  inch  to  8  inches,  so  that  some  means 


8 

other  than  an  inclined  piano  must  be  used  to  raise  water  to  a  service- 
able level.  In  any  ease  work  is  performed  only  when  the  motion  of 
the  water  is  checked.  The  current  wheel,  by  checking  the  motion  of 
a  large  quantity  of  water  to  some  degree,  raises  a  very  small  quantity 
of  water  to  a  height  ten  or  a  hundred  times  as  great  as  the  velocity 
head  in  the  stream. 

THEORETICAL  CALCULATION  OF  EFFICIENCY. 

The  speed  at  which  a  current  wheel  revolves  may  be  regulated  by 
increasing  or  decreasing  the  number  and  size  of  the  buckets  on  the 
rim.  When  the  load  is  so  heavy  that  the  wheel  does  not  start,  it  is 
evident  that  although  the  water  strikes  the  paddles  with  great  pres- 
sure no  work  is  done.  Again,  if  the  wheel  is  not  loaded  at  all,  and 
turns  as  fast  as  the  water  moves  under  it,  speed  is  developed,  but  no 
appreciable  pressure  is  exerted  on  the  paddles.  Halfway  between 
these  extremes  lies  the  mean  of  greatest  advantage;  therefore  the 
wheel  should  be  so  loaded  as  to  move  one-half  as  fast  as  the  water. 
Given  a  wheel  the  rim  of  which  moves  one-half  as  fast  as  the  water, 
its  efficiency  depends  on  the  design  of  the  paddles.  For  the  amount 
of  work  imparted  to  the  wheel  by  the  water  depends  on  the  change  in 
its  absolute  velocity  in  turning  the  wheel,  which  is  largely  governed 
by  the  angle  at  which  the  paddles  are  set.  But  dynamic  pressure  of 
water  varies  with  the  square  of  velocity,  and  the  work  imparted  will 
vary  as  the  square  of  the  initial  velocity  minus  the  square  of  the  final 

velocity.     This  relation  is  expressed  by  the  formula"  fr  —  (  W-    —  j 

V        -V    J 

in  which  /•  is  the  work  imparted  to  the  wheel,  W  is  the  weight  of 
water  that  conies  into  action  each  second.  /•  is  the  initial  velocity  of  the 
water,  i\  is  its  final  absolute  velocity,  and  g  is  the  force  of  gravity. 
In  any  given  set  of  conditions  W,  r.  and  </  have  constant  values.  The 
only  way.  then,  to  increase  the  amount  of  work  done  is  by  reducing  vv 
In  other  words,  if  the  water  could  be  made  to  leave  the  vanes  with  an 
absolute  velocity  of  zero,  the  power  imparted  to  the  wheel  would 
equal  the  total  dynamic  energy  of  the  stream,  and  the  efficiency  of 
the  wheel  would  be  100  per  cent.  In  figure  1*  a  series  of  wheels  is 
shown  with  the  paddles  arranged  at  various  angles.  At  (a)  is  shown 
the  most  common  form,  a  wheel  with  plain  radial  paddles.  Since  the 
wheel  moves  one-half  as  fast  as  the  water,  the  water  will  leave  the 
paddle,  in  the  direction  of  the  small  arrow,  with  a  velocity  one-half  as 
great  as  that  of  the  stream.  Owing  to  the  horizontal  motion  of  the 
paddle,  the  absolute  discharge  of  the  water  will  be  in  a  diagonal  direc- 
tion, and  its  absolute  velocity  will  be  the  initial  velocity  divided  by 
^/'2.     Since  the  energy  in  moving  water  varies  with  the  square  of  the 

"Merrhnan — Hydraulics,  8th  edition,  p.  406. 

'-All  text  figures  referred  t<»  will  l>e  found  at  the  end  of  the  bulletin. 


velocity,  the  water  discharged  has  one-half  of  the  energy  of  the  water 
striking  the  paddles.     Hence  one-half  of  the  energy  is  lost,  and  the 

efficiency  of  the  wheel  is  50  per  cent. 

Similar  reasoning  will  show  that  in  the  wheel  marked  (A).  tin1 
paddles  of  which  slant  upstream  30  degrees  from  vertical,  the  water 
is  discharged  with  an  absolute  velocity  one-half  as  great  as  the  enter- 
ing velocity,  giving  an  efficiency  of  7~>  per  cent.  At  [c)  the  blades 
slant  4.'»  degrees  from  vertical,  giving  an  efficiency  of  85  percent.  At 
('Z)the  paddle-  are  set  60  degrees  from  vertical,  giving  an  efficiency  of 
93  per  cent.  At  (<  >  the  paddles  are  supposed  to  discharge  the  water 
in  a  direction  directly  opposite  to  the  wheel's  motion,  so  that  it  leaves 
the  wheel  with  no  absolute  velocity  whatever.  In  that  case  the 
efficiency  would  he  loo  per  cent. 

PRACTICAL  OPERATIONS. 

Certain  practical  considerations,  however,  of  which  no  account  is 
taken  in  the  above  theoretical  discussion,  prevent  the  adoption  of 
several  of  the  forms  of  wheel  shown  in  figure  1.  First,  the  loss  by 
••impact."  or  the  churning  and  eddying  of  water,  is  very  great  when 
the  water  strikes  flat  on  a  paddle,  as  at  (a).  At  (//)  the  eddy  formed 
in  the  sharp  angle  between  the  paddle  and  the  rim  is  equally  wasteful. 
It  is  impossible  to  avoid  impact  altogether  in  any  water  wheel,  but  it 
is  least  detrimental  in  a  wheel  like  the  one  shown  at  (f)  in  which  the 
paddles  are  curved.  The  intention  is  that  the  water  shall  strike  the 
blades  nearly  at  a  tangent,  and  slide  smoothly  up  them,  coming  to  rest 
near  the  top.  In  sliding  out.  the  reaction  is  in  line  with  the  motion 
of  the  wheel,  and  the  absolute  velocity  of  the  tail-water  is  very  low. 
A  wheel  of  this  design  has  reached  a  working  efficiency  of  68  to  75 
per  rent  which  i<-  about  twice  the  efficiency  usually  obtainable  in  a 
wheel  with  straight  paddles.  Impact  is  seen  to  be  a  leading  factor  in 
reducing  the  efficiency  of  wheels. 

In  all  carefully  built  wheels  where  the  water  is  run  under  the  wheel 
through  a  Hume,  it  is  necessary  to  provide  ample  waste  way  for  the 
tail-water.  The  fall  in  the  tailrace  below  the  wheel  i»  ^i  course  light. 
so  as  to  get  the  greatest  possible  fall  above;  but  it  must  be  great 
enough  to  make  the  tail-water  Mow  away  without  checking  the  wheel. 

In  order  to  avoid  unnecessary  churning  of  the  water,  it  is  advisable 
to  have  not  less  than  1:2  paddles,  in  order  that  at  least  two  may  at  all 
times  be  in  the  water.  In  the  case  of  a  large  wheel  set  in  a  flume, 
more  paddles  should  be  provided  to  avoid  the  necessary  loss  between 
the  flume  and  the  paddles.  They  should  dip  into  the  water  not  more 
than  one-tenth  of  the  diameter  of  the  wheel,  for  if  they  dip  too  deep, 
the  pre— ure  of  the  water  i-  not  applied  tangent  to  the  wheel,  but  at  a 


"Frizell — Water  Power.  ."><!  edition,  p.  LN>. 


10 

less  advantageous  angle,  and  there  is  also  a  tendency  to  throw  water 
on  the  lower  side.  When  a  wheel  is  placed  in  a  flume,  it  is  always  well 
where  possible  to  run  the  water  under  a  gate,  making  the  paddles 
somewhat  wider  than  the  depth  of  the  water. 

As  a  matter  of  practice,  the  form  of  paddles  shown  in  figure  1  (e)  is 
entirely  impracticable.  The  water  discharged  with  no  velocity  would 
be  in  the  way  of  the  next  paddle  and  the  loss  by  impact  and  backwater 
would  be  so  large  as  to  make  the  wheel  worthless.  For  wheels  with 
straight  paddles,  the  form  shown  in  figure  1  (b)  is  found  to  be  most 
satisfactory.  In  this  case  the  paddles  leave  the  water  vertically  with 
no  tendency  to  splash  water.  Perhaps  the  most  effective  easy  con- 
struction out  of  flat  boards  is  the  one  shown  in  figure  11,  page  30, 
where  the  paddle  bends  at  an  angle.  In  this  case  the  usual  stiff  rim 
may  be  omitted. 

EXAMPLES  OF  WHEELS  IN  ACTUAL  USE. 

The  foregoing  considerations  apply  in  general  to  all  current  wheels. 
in  the  descriptions  of  wheels  in  actual  use,  attention  will  be  given  to 
many  points  in  their  design  and  to  constructive  details,  in  the  esti- 
mates of  the  cost  of  materials,  lumber  is  put  in  at  $25  per  thousand 
and  hardware  at  about  100  per  cent  above  wholesale  prices.  The 
weight  of  wheels  is  computed  on  the  basis  of  1  pounds  per  board  foot 
for  lumber  and  150  pounds  per  cubic  foot  for  ironwork. 

WHEELS  ON  THE  SOUTH  PLATTE  AT  DENVER. 

In  the  Farmers  and  Gardeners'  Ditch  from  the  South  Platte  River 
at  Denver,  Colo.,  are  four  wheels  of  the  design  shown  in  fig.  1,  and  in 
Plate  I,  fig.  1.  Each  is  1  feet  in  diameter  and  raises  water  3  feet  for 
tbe  irrigation  of  5  acres  in  vegetables.  The  shaft  is  of  li-inch  iron 
pipe  and  works  in  wooden  bearings.  Two  rows  of  1  by  2  inch  wooden 
spokes  are  placed  3  feet  apart  on  the  shaft.  Stiff  circular  rims  of 
i  by  6*  inch  material  connect  the  ends  of  the  spokes,  forming  a  ri  ^id 
wheel  for  the  support  of  the  paddles.  There  are  18  paddles  of  J-inch 
boards  6  inches  wide  and  1  feet  in  length.  The  paddles  extend  1  foot 
beyond  the  row  of  spokes  at  one  end,  where  the  buckets  are  swung 
between  them.  These  projecting  ends  are  braced  by  a  third  stiff  rim 
which  furnishes  a  bearing  for  the  buckets.  These  are  half-cylindrical 
in  shape,  being  made  of  tin  tacked  onto  round  pieces  of  wood  which 
form  the  ends.  They  are  swung  on  pins  of  heavy  wire  run  through 
the  centers  of  the  end  pieces.  Being  free  to  turn  on  the  pins,  the 
buckets  will  always  hang  right  side  up  unless  forcibly  turned  over. 
In  this  case  the}T  are  turned  over  when  the}^  reach  the  top  of  the  wheel 
by  a  slender  stick  placed  so  as  to  strike  each  bucket  in  turn.  A  piece 
of  rubber  hose  covers  the  end  of  the  stick,  which  springs  down  enough 


11 

to  let  the  bucket  roll  over  it  without  checking  the  motion  of  the  wheel. 

Each  of  the  18  buckets  holds  0.01  cubic  foot,  so  that  at  each  revolution 
the  wheel  raises  0.72  cubic  foot.  Turning"  once  in  3^  seconds,  the 
wheel  raises  about  0.2  cubic  foot  per  second.  No  attempt  is  made  to 
confine  the  water  of  the  ditch  to  a  flume  so  as  to  bring-  it  all  into  action 
on  the  wheel. 

These  wheels  are  well  constructed  and  are  said  to  have  cost  *%27  each. 
Most  of  the  expense  appears  to  have  been  for  labor,  since  the  amount 
of  material  required  is  so  small.  The  plan  calls  for  12  board  feet  of 
Lumber,  5  feet  of  pipe  for  the  shaft,  Si  pounds  of  tin  (D  C),  and  5 
pounds  of  No.  1  wire.  At  fair  retail  prices  the  cost  for  material  is 
$3.15.  This  estimate  is  exclusive  of  the  supporting  posts  and  the  flume 
for  carrying  away  the  water. 

These  wheels  successfully  water  the  gardens  for  which  they  were 
built  and  so  entirely  fultil  the  purpose  of  the  gardeners  who  put  them 
in.  With  a  little  change  in  design,  however,  a  wheel  of  this  pattern 
could  be  made  to  raise  twice  as  much  water  as  these  raise  at  present. 
In  the  first  place,  the  wheel  revolves  almost  as  fast  as  the  water  that 
turns  it,  so  that  the  water  which  strikes  the  paddles  exerts  about  one- 
third  of  its  power.  The  remedy  is  to  increase  the  size  of  the  buckets 
until  the  rim  of  the  wheel  moves  about  half  as  fast  as  the  water. 
Another  improvement  which  would  increase  the  capacity  of  the  wheel 
would  be  to  slant  the  paddles  about  30  degrees  upstream,  or.  better 
still,  a  slanting  board  could  be  added  to  each  paddle,  so  as  to  form  an 
angle  opening  upstream. 

Of  the  total  available  power  in  the  stream,  the  wheel  observed  used 
20  per  cent  in  "useful  work/*  By  running  all  the  water  through  a 
flume  4-i  feet  wide  and  changing  the  design  as  suggested  the  amount 
of  water  raised  would  be  largely  increased.  For  $10  a  permanent 
flume  of  2-inch  material  with  a  substantial  apron  and  wings  could  be 
built. 

Another  wheel  in  the  same  ditch  is  built  on  the  same  general  plan, 
except  the  buckets  are  fixed  rigidly  in  the  rim.  It  is  of  less  expensive 
construction,  however,  being  framed  from  two  buggy  wheels  with 
their  rims  removed  placed  3  feet  apart  on  a  shaft.  The  paddles,  of 
J-inch  boards  6  inches  wide,  are  nailed  to  the  spokes.  As  before,  rows 
of  braces  between  the  paddles  form  three  stitf  rims.  The  buckets  are 
formed  by  nailing  sheets  of  tin  to  the  inside  and  outside  edges  of  the 
paddles  so  that  the  two  rims  form  the  ends  and  the  paddles  form  the 
bottoms.  The  sheet  of  tin  on  the  inside  is  cut  narrower  than  the  one 
on  the  outside.  But  for  the  fact  that  when  the  wheel  is  in  motion  the 
water  tends  to  fly  away  from  the  center,  nearly  all  the  water  would 
spill  from  these  buckets  before  reaching  the  flume.  For  this  reason  a 
rather  high  velocity  is  necessary  to  make  this  wheel  work  well. 


12 

The  cost  of  the  wheel  was  given  as  $1.85,  which  is  probably  the  cost 
of  the  shaft,  tin,  and  nails.  It  was  built  by  the  gardener  who  uses  it. 
It  contains  almost  exactly  the  same  amount  of  material  as  the  wheel 
first  described  and,  granted  an  indefinite  supply  of  old  buggy  wheels, 
could  be  built  for  about  half  as  much.  But  it  can  not  be  made  to  raise 
the  water  quite  so  high,  and,  on  account  of  spilling  the  water,  is  much 
less  efficient  than  the  first  type.  Its  efficiency  could  be  increased  by 
slanting  the  blades,  but  not  by  increasing  the  load;  because  a  high 
veloeitjr  is  essential. 

Each  of  these  five  wheels  irrigates  5  acres  in  market  gardens,  an 
annual  tax  of  $5  being  paid  to  the  ditch  company  by  each  gardener. 
The  ditch  has  a  very  constant  flow,  so  that  there  is  always  water 
enough  to  run  the  wheels.  Since  the  water  level  changes  so  little,  no 
device  for  raising  and  lowering  these  wheels  is  used. 

A  BIG  WHEEL  IN  GRAND  RIVER  VALLEY,   COLORADO. 

A  wheel  in  operation  on  the  Grand  Valley  Canal,  in  Colorado,  raises 
water  30  feet  for  the  irrigation  of  40  acres  of  orchard.  The  wheel  is 
31  feet  in  diameter,  the  paddles  being  8  feet  long  and  2  feet  8  inches 
wide.  The  spokes  are  secured  at  the  center  by  means  of  castings 
and  are  set  at  such  an  angle  to  the  shaft  that  they  come  to  a  point 
on  the  rim  of  the  wheel  (fig.  2).  To  provide  sufficient  rigidity,  a  sys- 
tem of  braces  is  adopted,  making  a  very  substantial  construction. 
Braces  are  also  run  from  paddle  to  paddle  and  between  the  arms  of 
the  wheel,  so  as  to  form  a  system  of  six  or  eight  circular  rims. 

The  buckets  consist  of  long  boxes  made  of  1-inch  stuff,  set  at  such 
an  angle  on  the  rim  of  the  wheel  that  they  will  fill  nearly  full  and 
raise  the  water  within  2  feet  of  the  top  of  the  wheel. 

One  interesting  feature  of  this  wheel  is  the  method  tried  for  adjust- 
ing it  to  the  stage  of  water.  The  plan  was  to  counterpoise  the  weight 
of  the  wheel,  balancing  it  on  two  heavy  supporting  timbers.  The 
adjustment  was  to  be  accomplished  by  means  of  a  windlass,  but,  owing 
to  the  unexpected  increase  of  weight  which  occurred  when  the  wheel 
became  water-soaked,  the  scheme  was  abandoned  and  the  support  was 
made  rigid  by  additional  braces. 

The  training  flume  for  directing  the  flow  of  the  canal  against  the 
paddles  of  the  wheel  is  of  somewhat  unusual  construction  (tig.  3).  A 
flume  with  three  channels  was  built  in  the  canal,  the  wheel  being  set 
in  the  center;  flashboards  are  inserted  in  the  two  side  channels  to  con- 
trol the  flow.  The  effort  to  prevent  the  interference  of  floating  mat- 
ter with  the  action  of  the  wheel,  by  means  of  a  brush  guard,  as  shown, 
is  not  altogether  successful,  owing  to  the  fact  that  it  checks  the  current 
to  a  considerable  extent. 

The  quantity  of  water  raised  by  the  wheel  was  measured  when  all 


13 

of  the  water  was  running  through  the  center  flume,  and  was  found 
to  be  0.30  cubic  foot  per  second,  which  is  the  maximum  capacity  of 
the  wheel.  Under  ordinary  conditions,  with  the  side  channels  open, 
it  raised  about  0.25  cubic  foot  per  second.  The  wheel  moved  very 
unsteadily,  being  so  heavily  loaded  that  its  motion  was  entirely  checked 
each  time  a  paddle  entered  the  water,  several  seconds  being  required 
to  back  the  water  up  to  a  sufficient  extent  to  start  the  wheel.  It  turned 
over  once  in  two  minutes,  having  a  rim  velocity  of  about  25  per  cent 
of  the  velocity  of  the  water. 

The  cost  of  the  wheel,  which  was  built  in  181)5,  was  given  as  $400. 
It  contains  1,750  feet  of  lumber  and  about  450  pounds  of  hardware, 
which  together  should  cost  not  more  than  $90.  The  operating  expenses 
are  very  low.  The  owner  of  the  wheel  is  assessed  by  the  ditch  com- 
pany at  twice  the  usual  rate  charged  the  other  users,  with  the  stipula- 
tion that  the  water  in  the  canal  must  not  be  appreciably  checked.  The 
assessment  is  usually  about  $2  per  inch  (38.4  Colorado  inches  equal  1 
cubic  foot  per  second). 

CHEAP   STRUCTURES   IN   WASHINGTON,    UTAH,  AND    COLORADO. 
NEED    OE   ADJUSTMENT    TO    STAGE    OE    WATER. 

A  0-foot  wheel  located  at  North  Yakima,  Wash.,  is  shown  in  tig.  5. 
It  is  heavily  framed  of  eight  2  by  4  inch  anus  radiating  from  a  0-foot 
shaft  of  5  by  5  inch  stuff.  The  paddles  are  1  foot  wride  and  0  feet 
long,  each  carrying  a  1-gallon  tin  can  on  either  end.  These  cans  are 
nailed  to  a  beveled  seat,  which  tips  them  enough  so  that  they  are  full 
or  nearly  so  when  they  leave  the  stream.  But  even  allowing  that  the 
twelve  cans  discharge  their  full  capacity,  the  efficiency  of  the  wheel 
when  observed  was  only  9  per  cent.  This  low  efficiency  is  due  mainly 
to  the  faulty  design  of  the  paddles.  They  are  so  wide  in  proportion  to 
the  size  of  the  wheel,  and  they  dip  so  deep  in  the  water  that  the  wheel 
wastes  its  energy  in  churning  the  water,  both  as  the  paddles  enter  and 
as  they  leave  the  water.  The  advantage  of  balancing  a  wdieel  of  this 
size  by  placing  buckets  at  both  ends  is  probably  too  small  to  pay  for 
the  extra  11 inning  required. 

This  wheel  is  nearly  twice  as  heavy  as  the  one  first  described  (page 
10)  and  it  requires  three  times  as  much  water  to  run  it,  yet  it  raises 
less  water.  It  is  very  substantial  and  requires  little  attention.  It  cost 
818.  As  it  contains  only  80  feet  of  lumber,  it  could  easily  be  repro- 
duced for  less  money,  as  its  simple  construction  would  require  no 
special  skill.  Not  being  adjustable  for  high  and  low  water,  it  runs 
to  great  advantage  just  when  there  is  the  best  supply  of  water  to 
operate  it. 


14 

CHEAP   AND    EFFICIENT. 

Another  wheel  of  the  same  design  is  small  and  well  built,  and,  con- 
sidering that  it  runs  in  a  current  moving  only  1  foot  per  second,  is 
remarkably  efficient.  It  has  a  simple  and  effective  device  for  raising 
and  lowering  the  bearings,  which  is  shown  in  fig.  6.  The  buckets  are 
all  on  one  side  and  raise  the  water  much  higher  than  necessary  to  reach 
the  flume.  The  wheel  cost  $13  and  contains  about  75  feet  of  lumber, 
ncluding  the  supports  but  not  the  flume. 

AN    OLD   WAGON   HUB    AS   A    BASIS. 

An  ingenious  wheel  installed  in  a  ditch  near  Morgan  City,  Utah,  is 
shown  in  Plate  I,  fig.  2,  and  in  fig.  7.  It  is  built  by  inserting  spokes 
of  1-inch  material  3  feet  long  in  an  old  wagon  hub.  The  spokes  are 
made  rigid  by  two  sets  of  braces.  The  paddles  are  18  inches  long 
and  8  inches  wide,  and  the  twelve  buckets  hold  nearly  1  gallon  each, 
being  tilted  slightly  by  wedge-shaped  blocks  placed  beneath  them. 

The  shaft  is  supported  on  one  side  of  the  wheel  only,  being  made 
fast  to  a  tree  at  one  end  and  resting  on  a  post  near  the  wheel.  The 
wheel  is  but  half  the  width  of  the  ditch,  a  small  gate  closing  the  other 
half  when  the  wheel  is  in  use.  This  arrangement  doubles  the  veloc- 
ity of  the  water  when  the  gate  is  closed  and  affords  a  means  of  regu- 
lating the  amount  of  water  raised.  The  wheel  irrigates  one-fourth 
acre  of  garden,  and  could  be  made  to  serve  a  much  larger  tract. 

IRRIGATION    FOR    TWELVE    ACRES    OF    ORCHARD. 

A  very  simple  wheel  is  shown  in  fig.  20.  It  is  14  feet  in  diameter 
with  paddles  9  feet  long  and  2  feet  8  inches  wide.  It  raises  water  10 
feet.  The  shaft  consists  of  a  11-foot  length  of  If -inch  gas  pipe  with 
four  2  by  8-inch  pieces  bolted  around  it  for  stiffness  and  to  give  a 
bearing  for  the  arms.  This  gives  the  shaft  alone  a  weight  of  over 
300  pounds,  or  more  than  twice  the  weight  of  a  2-inch  solid  steel  shaft 
the  same  length.  The  construction  calls  for  328  feet  of  lumber,  but 
it  could  be  built  very  much  lighter  without  reducing  its  capacity. 
Its  cost  is  given  as  $35.  The  lumber  could  be  purchased  for  $8.50 
and  the  galvanized  iron  for  $3.50,  making  the  cost  of  materials  about 
$15,  allowing  for  the  gas  pipe  and  bolts.  The  wheel  raises  0.11  cubic 
foot  of  water  per  second,  irrigating  12  acres  of  orchard  and  garden. 

BUCKETS    MADE    OF    OIL    CANS. 

A  somewhat  larger  wheel  in  a  ditch  in  the  Lower  Natchez  Valley, 
Washington,  is  shown  in  fig.  8.  It  is  11  feet  in  diameter,  having 
paddles  9  feet  long  and  14  inches  wide.  It  raises  water  7  feet.  Part 
of  the  buckets  are  made  of  galvanized  iron  and  part  are  made  by  cut- 


U.  S.  Dept.  of  Age,  Bui.  146,  Office  of  Expt.  Stations       Irrigation  Investigations. 


Plate 


Fig.  1.— Current  Wheel,  Farmers  and  Gardeners'  Ditch,  Colorado. 


Fig.  2.— Wheel  near  Morgan  City,  Utah, 


15 

tinu-  6  inches  from  the  bottom  of  5-gallon  oil  cans.  The  wheel  alone 
contains  328  feet  of  lumber.  The  method  of  bracing-  the  arm  is  very 
effective.     There  are  no  data  at  hand  for  determining  the  efficiency. 

EFFECTIVE    USE    OF    WAGON    WHEEL   AND   AXLE. 

An  example  of  extreme  lightness  of  construction  in  a  15-foot  wheel  is 
shown  in  rig.  9,  illustrating  a  wheel  on  the  South  Platte  River  near  the 
mouth  of  Be^ar  Creek,  Colo.  It  is  built  entirely  of  1-inch  lumber  and  an 
old  wagon  wheel.  The  arms  are  of  1  by  8  inch  boards,  and  are  braced 
by  boards  of  the  same  dimension  about  2  feet  from  the  outer  ends. 
Baling  wire  connecting  the  outer  ends  of  the  arms  helps  to  stiffen  the 
wheel.  The  paddles  are  I  feet  long  and  18  inches  wide;  the  arms  are 
not  nailed  in  the  centers  of  the  paddles  but  a  little  toward  one  end, 
the  longer  parts  of  the  boards  serving  to  balance  the  buckets.  The 
entire  wheel  contains  about  So  feet  of  lumber  and  weighs  scarcely  350 
pounds. 

Its  most  interesting  feature  is  the  method  of  hanging  it  and  adjust- 
ing it  to  different  heights  of  water.  The  wagon  hub  fits  on  its  origi- 
nal bearing,  half  of  the  old  axle  being  bolted  to  a  10-inch  beam  about 
20  feet  long.  This  beam  is  suspended  between  two  posts  set  near  the 
wheel,  by  a  chain  wound  on  a  drum.  The  other  end  is  free  to  move 
vertically  between  two  smaller  posts  set  as  guides.  The  weight  of  the 
10-inch  log  balances  the  wheel,  and  it  can  be  raised  or  lowered 
easily  by  one  man. 

The  velocity  of  the  water  was  not  measured,  so  it  is  not  possible  to 
get  at  the  efficiency  of  this  wheel.  It  raises  0.25  cubic  foot  per  second 
10  feet,  which  is  live  or  six  times  the  amount  of  work  done  by  the 
small  wheels  of  about  the  same  weight. 

A  CONTRAST  IN  COST  OF  TWO  WASHINGTON  WHEELS. 

A  much  larger  wheel  than  any  of  the  foregoing  is  shown  in  PL  II, 
tig.  1,  and  in  rig.  10.  It  is  in  operation  on  the  Yakima  River  in  Wash- 
ington. It  is  26  feet  in  diameter,  and  the  16  paddles  are  11  feet  long 
and  21  inches  wide.  It  raises  water  22  feet.  In  a  wheel  of  this  size 
and  weight  great  strain  comes  on  the  center  fastenings  of  the  spokes. 
The  heavy  shaft  and  large  cast-iron  "  rosettes"  used  in  this  wheel,  with 
the  wedges  driven  in  between  the  arms,  make  it  a  model  for  rigidity 
and  strength.  The  buckets  of  galvanized  iron  are  placed  on  the  out- 
side of  the  rims  and  parallel  to  them,  being  beveled  in  such  a  way  that 
they  till  about  two-thirds  full  and  begin  to  spill  when  about  -1  feet 
from  the  top  of  the  wheel.  Wooden  buckets  are  also  used,  made  as 
shown  in  Fl.  II,  tig.  1. 

The  device  for  raising  the  wheel  is  shown  in  rig.  10.  Since  the 
wheel  weighs  about  6,000  pounds  it  is  evident  that  the  lever  will  have 
to  be  rather  long  to  make  it  possible  for  one  man  to  adjust  the  wheel. 
3168a— No.  14(3— 04 "J 


16 

The  materials  used  in  the  wheel  are  about  1,250  feet  of  lumber.  120 
pounds  of  flat  iron  for  the  ties,  a  shaft  weighing  260  pounds,  -1  iron 
rosettes  weighing  together  200  pounds,  20  pounds  of  3-inch  bolts,  and 
say  100  pounds  of  galvanized  iron.  Allowing  10  cents  a  pound  for 
the  iron  and  50  cents  each  (13  cents  per  pound)  for  the  cans,  the  cost 
for  materials  is  £106  for  the  wheel  alone.  The  cost  was  given  by  the 
owner  as  $600,  this  amount  including  the  pier,  platform,  and  fluming. 
In  putting  in  large  wheels  it  will  usually  be  found  that  the  cost  of  the 
wheel  itself  is  a  smaller  item  than  the  cost  of  a  single  crib  pier  for 
mounting  it.  The  two  cribs  for  this  wheel  were  placed  on  a  sandy 
bottom  and  rest  on  piles. 

This  large  and  expensive  wheel  irrigates  but  15  acres  of  fruit  and 
alfalfa,  making  a  total  cost  of  SlU  an  acre  for  water.  This  heavy  cost 
shows  first  that  the  advantage  of  a  swift  current  may  be  largely  offset 
by  great  expense  for  piers,  and  it  shows  also  the  rapid  increase  in  the 
cost  of  irrigation,  as  the  elevation  of  a  piece  of  land  above  the  source 
of  water  increases.  The  cost  of  materials  for  this  wheel,  disregard- 
ing the  mounting  of  it,  was  about  87  for  each  acre  irrigated,  while  the 
materials  for  the  wheels  described  in  pages  9  and  10,  which  irrigated  5 
acres  each,  cost  a  little  more  than  $3,  or  say  70  cents  per  acre.  In 
general,  twice  the  height  of  lift  means  half  as  much  water  and  usually 
four  times  as  great  cost  for  materials.  Again,  the  annual  repairs  and  cost 
of  maintenance  in  the  case  of  the  small  wheel  were  too  small  to  reckon, 
while  this  large  wheel  requires  825  a  year  for  maintenance  and  repairs, 
or  nearly  §1.70  per  acre,  So  great  is  the  disadvantage  of  a  high  lift 
that,  unless  the  value  of  water  for  irrigation  is  very  high,  the  building 
of  large  direct-lift  wheels  is  not  to  be  recommended. 

There  are  two  large  wheels  in  the  Columbia  River  at  Ellensburg, 
AVash.,  which  discharge  into  one  flume,  both  being  the  property  of 
one  man.  Though  of  the  crudest  construction,  they  irrigate  1<»  acres 
of  land.  Their  chief  claim  to  interest  is  their  great  size,  one  111  and 
the  other  30  feet  in  diameter,  and  extremely  low  cost,  one  having  cost 
the  builder  in  cash  S10  and  the  other  S7.5<».  There  is  almost  no  iron- 
work about  them,  the  only  money  paid  out  being  for  nails  and  the 
lighter  lumber.  The  heavy  parts  are  built  of  drift  logs  and  odd  tim- 
bers. This  low  cost,  as  estimated  by  the  builder,  shows  the  difficulty 
in  estimating  the  probable  cost  of  reproducing  any  certain  style  of 
wheel.  The  necessary  expenditure  depends  very  largely  on  the  inge- 
nuity of  the  builder.  The  water  is  carried  in  two  siphons  under  pres- 
sure to  avoid  a  high  flume.  The  upper  flume  was  built  on  account  of 
the  great  difficulty  encountered  in  keeping  the  lower  flume  tight  under 
a  pressure  of  30  feet.  The  pressure  on  the  upper  flume  is  about  12 
feet. 


U.  S.  Dept.  of  Agr.,  Bui.  146,  Offic 

e  of  Expt.  Stations.      Irrigation  Investigations. 

PL 

ATE   II. 

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Fig.  1.— Wheel  on  Yakima  River,  Washington. 


Fig.  2.— Wheel  in  Fancher  Creek  Nursery,  Fresno,  Cal. 


17 

DESIGN  BY  A  MINING  ENGINEER. 

The  wheel  shown  in  PI.  II,  fig.  2,  and  in  fig.  11  is  in  use  in  Fresno, 
Oil.,  for  the  irrigation  of  about  12  acres  of  shade  trees  and  oranges. 
It  is  patterned  after  a  design  by  a  mining  engineer,  and  is  in  some 
respects  an  admirable  and  efficient  type  of  current  wheel.  It  is  16 
I'cct  in  diameter,  raising  water  12  feet.  The  stiff  heavy  rims  found  in 
niosi  wheels  are  entirely  absent,  and  instead  a  series  of  braces  is  used 
which  cross  the  arms  and  support  the  paddles.  Each  paddle  is  made 
of  two  24-inch  boards  set  at  a  wide  angle  with  each  other.  As  is 
shown  in  the  drawing,  the  angle  is  such  that  the  paddle  leaves  the 
water  in  a  vertical  position,  with  no  tendency  to  throw  water. 

The  form  of  the  buckets  is  also  commendable.  They  are  carefully 
designed  to  clear  the  bottom  of  the  flume  and  the  edge  of  the  discharge 
trough,  and  to  take  in  no  more  water  than  can  be  carried  to  the  top 
without  spilling.  The  entire  construction  requires  500  feet  of  lumber. 
The  shaft  is  very  heavy,  215  pounds,  but  not  nearly  so  heavy  as  the 
two  castings  which,  according  to  the  drawing,  must  weigh  800  pounds 
each,  making  the  entire  wheel  with  the  buckets  weigh  about  4,000 
pounds. 

The  wheel  is  substantial,  but  is  unnecessarily  heavy  and  expensive. 
Admitting  the  necessity  of  a  rigid  center  fastening,  a  disk  of  J-inch 
boiler  iron  would  serve  nearly  every  purpose  of  the  heavy  casting. 
This  wheel  could  be  reproduced  the  same  size  but  made  with  1-inch 
and  i-inch  material,  with  an  iron  pipe  for  a  shaft  for  less  than  half 
the  cost.  Under  favorable  conditions  the  Fresno  wheel  raises  0.5 
cubic  foot  per  second  to  a  height  of  12  feet.  A  lighter  wheel  would 
do  more  work. 

CONSTRUCTION  FOR  A  SWIFT  CURRENT  IN  IDAHO. 

The  wheel  shown  in  tig.  12  has  been  in  use  on  Lost  River,  Idaho. 
It  was  built  to  raise  water  about  10  feet  for  the  irrigation  of  2.25  acres 
in  garden  and  grain.  It  is  II  feet  in  diameter,  with  paddles  (3  feet  in 
length  mounted  on  a  shaft  18  feet  long,  spanning  the  stream.  The 
shaft  is  an  8  by  8  inch  square  timber.  For  6  inches  near  each  end,  it  is 
turned  round  to  form  a  bearing.  The  spokes  are  very  substantial, 
being  made  of  2  by  6  inch  material.  Each  paddle  carries  a  3-gallon 
pickle  keg  on  one  end.  The  kegs  are  set  on  a  bevel,  as  shown  in  the 
figure.  The  device  for  raising  and  lowering  the  wheel  is  very  simple, 
consisting  of  two  uprights  which  support  a  pulle}7,  beneath  which  a 
wooden  bearing  is  hung  by  a  f -inch  rope.  A  piece  of  gas  pipe  is  used 
as  a  windlass  (tig.  13). 

When  the  wheel  was  built,  it  was  set  between  two  supports  at  a 
point  where  the  river  is  about  10  feet  wride,  the  supporting  posts  being 
driven  into  the  bed  of  the  stream  at  either  side  of  the  deeper  current. 


18 

The  swift  current  in  the  center  of  the  stream  turned  the  wheel  very 
satisfactorily  for  a  time,  but  owing  to  the  soft  nature  of  the  bed, 
which  at  this  point  is  composed  of  coarse  gravel,  during  high  water 
the  current  washed  out  a  deep  channel  directly  under  the  wheel  and 
left  it  high  and  dry  Avhen  the  flood  subsided.  To  obviate  this  difficulty, 
the  wheel  is  to  be  remounted  between  two  crib  piers  at  a  point  where 
the  river  channel  at  high  water  is  only  about  15  feet  wide.  In  low 
water  the  channel  is  only  about  10  feet  wide,  the  current  being  about 
5  feet  per  second.  This  narrow  channel  of  the  river  is  only  a  few 
years  old,  and  although  it  appears  to  consist  of  a  hard  cemented 
gravel,  still  it  is  by  no  means  certain  that  in  the  course  of  time  the 
wheel  may  not  again  be  left  stranded  above  the  current. 

Four  hundred  feet  of  lumber  were  used  in  building  the  wheel  and 
25  pounds  of  bolts,  making  the  cost  of  materials  about  $12,  not  includ- 
ing the  buckets.  The  heavy  construction  of  the  wheel  would  be 
unwise  under  most  conditions;  but  in  a  current  as  swift  as  5  feet  per 
second  in  low  water  and  much  swifter  when  the  water  is  high,  any  but 
the  most  substantial  construction  would  prove  unsatisfactory.  The 
notching  of  the  main  arms  where  the}r  cross  at  the  center  of  the  wheel 
weakens  them  seriously.  Were  this  avoided  by  placing  one  set 
nearer  the  middle  of  the  shaft,  leaving  space  enough  so  that  the  rim 
of  1-inch  boards  could  be  nailed  on  the  inside  of  one  set  and  on  the 
outside  of  the  other,  2  b}r  1  inch  material  would  be  strong  enough. 
While  the  8  by  8  inch  shaft  would  sustain  a  weight  at  the  center  of  over 
10,000  pounds,  still  it  is  none  too  heavy  for  the  wheel  weighing  1,600 
pounds;  since  it  is  evident  that  the  friction  in  the  bearings  is  greatly 
increased  by  a  comparatively  slight  bending  of  the  shaft. 

The  wheel  raised  sufficient  water  to  irrigate  the  2.25  acres  in  fort}7- 
eight  hours,  the  water  being  applied  four  or  five  times  in  the  season. 
It  should  then  raise  sufficient  water  for  the  successful  irrigation  of  40 
acres  using  the  water  for  one  hundred  and  sixt\T  days. 

DIRECT-LIFT  WHEELS  IN  IDAHO. 

In  the  Payette  Valley,  Idaho,  are  a  dozen  direct-lift  wheels  of  the 
same  general  type  shown  in  tig.  11.  This  large  wheel  is  very  carefully 
made,  fitting  into  a  flume  with  only  2  inches  clearance.  The  construc- 
tion is  shown  in  figs.  11,  15,  16,  and  17.  The  crude  method  of  raising 
and  lowering  the  wheel  contrasts  with  its  excellent  workmanship.  At 
the  end  of  the  season  it  is  laboriously  raised  out  of  the  water  by  jacks 
and  is  blocked  up  till  the  opening  of  another  season.  While  in  use  it 
remains  at  one  height  regardless  of  the  stage  of  the  water. 

In  several  ways  the  efficiency  of  this  wheel  could  be  raised.  When 
the  water  is  too  high  to  run  the  wheel  to  advantage,  part  of  it  could 
be  carried  awa}T  in  a  second  flume,  leaving  just  enough  running  under 
the  wheel  to  give  the  greatest  speed.     Or,  better  still,  a  "stop"  could 


U.  S.  Dept.  of  Agi.,  Bui.  146,  Office  of  Expt  Stations.      Irrigation  Investigations. 


Plate  III. 


19 

bo  placed  in  the  ditch  and  the  water  run  into  the  flume  under  a  gate, 
giving-  it  great  velocity.  In  a  great  many  cases  a  "stop"  or  "drop" 
already  existing  in  a  ditch  could  be  utilized  to  good  advantage  in 
this  way. 

The  cost  of  the  wheel,  flume,  and  supports  was  $150.  For  six  years 
there  were  no  repairs  and  no  running  expenses  except  for  grease  and 
for  raising  and  lowering  the  wheel  twice  in  a  season.  In  the  seventh 
year,  1903,  repairs  cost  $ 50,  mainly  for  a  new  shaft,  and  in  subsequent 
years  repairs  will  doubtless  be  required  to  the  extent  of  $10  or  $15  a 
year. 

Twenty-five  acres  in  alfalfa  and  fruit  are  irrigated  by  this  wheel, 
the  value  of  the  crops  raised  being  estimated  at  $2,337  annually. 

WHEELS  FOR  RUNNING  PUMPS. 

A  wheel  operating  a  rotaiy  pump  is  shown  in  Plate  III.  It  is  in 
use  in  the  Yakima  River,  near  Prosser,  Wash.  It  is  homemade,  but  a 
fine  example  of  a  cheap,  serviceable  wheel.  Being  suspended  between 
two  heav}r  timbers  anchored  in  the  banks,  no  expensive  pier  is  required. 
The  wheel  is  11  feet  in  diameter  and  17.5  feet  long.  The  paddles  are 
2  feet  wide  of  1-inch  stuff.  The  whole  wheel  is  easily  raised  and  low- 
ered by  one  man  by  means  of  double  pulleys  and  a  windlass  with  long 
spokes,  seen  to  the  left  of  the  center  of  the  picture. 

The  main  driving  pulle}T  is  nailed  to  the  spokes  of  the  wheel,  and  is 
7  feet  in  diameter.  A  H-inch  rope  runs  over  this  pulley,  carrying 
the  power  to  a  28-inch  pulley  on  a  countershaft.  The  driver  on  the 
countershaft  is  10  feet  in  diameter  and  is  connected  by  a  1-inch  rope 
to  a  pulley  at  the  pump,  which  can  be  adjusted  from  11  inches  to  a 
larger  size,  as  speed  requires.  The  pump  shaft  revolves  32  times  to 
each  revolution  of  the  water  wheel.  The  pump  raises  water  48  feet, 
and  at  full  speed  discharges  one-third  of  a  cubic  foot  per  second. 
When  the  river  is  low,  much  less  is  pumped. 

The  cost  of  the  wheel  was  $10  to  $50  for  materials,  or,  counting  the 
owner's  time  in  construction,  say  $70  to  $75.  Of  this  cost  $20  was  for 
a  steel  shaft.  The  cost  of  the  pump  was  not  given,  but  was  probably 
$75  to  $85.  The  entire  plant  may  have  cost  $200.  It  successfully 
irrigates  18  acres  in  fruit  and  alfalfa,  the  land  being  valued  at  $20  per 
acre.     The  annual  expense  for  rope,  oil,  and  repairs  is  nearly  $20. 

h\  the  lower  Payette  Ditch,  in  Idaho,  are  eight  wheels,  used  to  run 
pumps.  One  of  these  plants  is  here  described  as  an  example  of  a  well- 
built  and  expensive  outfit,  which  is,  however,  eminently  successful. 
The  plan  and  construction  of  the  wheel  are  shown  in  figures  18  and  19. 
The  wheel  is  connected  by  chain  and  sprocket  to  a  3-piston,  5-inch 
pump,  which  forces  the  water  through  1,800  feet  of  If -inch  pipe  to 
the  upper  side  of  the  owner's  ranch,  30  feet  above  the  canal.  The 
pump  has  three  parallel  pistons  connected  to  eccentrics  on  the  same 


20 

shaft,  so  arranged  that  each  piston  in  turn  conies   into  action.     The 
cost  of  the  plant  was  as  follows: 

5-inch  triple  action  pump (165 

3-inch  steel  shaft,  18  feet  long 85 

3  cast-in  >n  flanges,  3  feet  diameter 30 

2  boxings  for  main  shaft 8 

( last-iron  spr*  icket,  gear  wheels,  and  chains 115 

Lumber GO 

1,800  feet  of  4f-inch  galvanized-iron  pipe 274 

Labor 50 

Total 737 

Of  this  Cost  only  about  $120  is  for  the  wheel.  No  attention  other 
than  daily  oiling  is  required.  As  the  plant  was  put  in  in  1903,  no 
repairs  have  as  yet  been  necessary.  The  annual  cost  for  maintenance 
should  fall  below  $10. 

The  amount  of  water  raised  is  about  0.3  cubic  foot  per  second, 
which  is  used  to  irrigate  27  acres  in  fruit.  Water  is  applied  115  days, 
making  the  total  depth  of  irrigation  in  the  season  almost  exactly  8 
feet.  The  orchard  of  2,500  young  trees — prunes,  apples,  and  pears — 
should,  when  older,  yield  an  annual  crop  worth  $5,000. 

CHAIN-AND-BUCKET   GEARS. 

A  water  elevator  of  the  chain-and-bucket  type  is  shown  in  Plate  IV. 
It  is  run  by  a  5-foot  overshot  wheel  of  ordinary  construction,  but 
since  it  is  equally  adaptable  to  current  wheels,  it  is  of  interest  in  their 
discussion.  The  elevator  consists  of  two  endless  chains  running  over 
sprocket  wheels,  each  chain  eariying  12  galvanized-iron  bucket.-,  a- 
shown  in  the  illustration.  The  lower  >procket  wheels  are  32  inches  in 
diameter,  set  on  a  3 -inch  shaft.  The  upper  sprockets  are  21  inches  in 
diameter  on  a  14-inch  shaft.  The  sprockets  are  set  18  inches  apart 
and  the  distance  between  shafts  is  20  feet.  The  cost  of  the  outfit  was 
given  as  about  S250.  Of  this  amount  the  chain  cost  $75  and  the 
bucket-  $20.  Estimating  the  four  sprocket  wheels  at  $10  each,  the 
two  shafts  at  $12.50.  and  the  four  boxings  at  $1.5o  each,  the  cost 
of  the  lifting  apparatus  without  the  wheel  was  about  $115.  The 
owner  found  No.  77  chain  too  light  and  recommended  heavy  gear 
throughout  for  the  constant  service  required. 

A  simple  application  of  chain-and-bucket  gear  to  current  wheels  is 
suggested  in  figure  21.  The  power  is  transmitted  by  a  rope  to  one 
of  the  shafts — in  thi>  ease  the  lower  one.  This  arrangement  makes 
it  easy  to  place  the  whole  apparatus  near  the  bank  of  a  stream,  or.  if 
desired,  the  elevator  could  be  placed  at  an}*  convenient  distance. 


L     b    Debt,  of  Agr.,  Bui.  146,  Office  of  Expt.  Stations.      Irrigation  Investigations. 


Plate  IV. 


Chain  and  Bucket  Operated  by  Overshot  Wheel,  Selah,  Wash. 


21 

ITALIAN  CURRENT  WHEELS. 

Two  wheels  on  opposite  sides  of  the  swift  Adige  River  in  Italy,  just 
above  the  city  of  Yemna.  are  'i"  feet  in  height,  raising  water  40  feet. 
The  construction  is  the  lightest  possible  owing  to  scarcity  of  wood  in 
that  region,  the  spokes  being  light  single  poles  braced  by  two  sets  of 
still  tighter  strips.  The  rim  is  a  continuous  wooden  box  divided  into 
compartments,  each  with  a  sort  of  trap  door  which  opens  when  enter- 
ing the  water  and  closes  of  itself  as  it  begins  to  rise.  To  this  box  or 
rim  the  paddles  are  fastened  on  either  side,  being  nailed  to  cleats. 
They  arc  braced  at  the  ends  by  slender  sticks  run  through  holes  bored 
in  the  paddles  and  keyed  or  wedged  in  place.  It  is  usual  to  arrange 
two  wheels  with  a  flume  between  them,  though  the  advantage  of  this 
arrangement  is  not  evident.  A  wing  dam  turns  the  current  into  a 
flume  running  under  the  wheel. 

A  floating  current  wheel  also  in  the  Adige  River,  is  used  for  oper- 
ating a  ffrist  mill. 

A  typical  modern  current  wheel  in  Milan.  Italy,  is  used  for  power. 
The  curved  blades  are  made  of  sheet  iron,  the  entire  framework 
being  of  steel.  The  ^ater  runs  swiftly  down  a  sluice  striking  only 
the  tips  of  the  blades.  Owing  to  their  curvature,  it  slides  smoothly 
up  the  blades,  comes  to  rest,  and  is  discharged  with  very  little  veloc- 
ity. An  offset  in  the  tailrace  just  below  the  wheel  provides  ample 
waste  way. 


22 


Fig.  1.— Diagrams  of  Current  Wheels  with  Paddles  Set  at  Various  A 


ious  Angles. 


23 


24 


FLASH  80AR0S^ 


FLASH  BOARDS 


3_ 


Fig.  3.— Flume  and  Brush  Guards  for  Wheel  on  Grand  Valley  Canal,  Colorado. 


Fig.  4.— Wheel  on  Farmers  and  Gardeners'  Ditch,  Colorado. 


25 


Fig.  5.— Wheel  at  North  Yakima,  Wash. 


Fig.  6.— Lifting  Device  for  Small  Wheel. 


26 


—  C-4     - 

PLA  N 


ELEVATION 

Fig.  7.— Wheel  near  Morgan  City,  Utah. 


27 


28 


29 


30 


31 


Fig.  12.— Wheel  on  Lost  River.  Idaho. 


Fig.  13.— Lifting  Device  for  Current  Wheel  on  Lost  River,  Idaho. 


31683— No.  146—04 3 


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Fig.  20.— Wheel  in  Yakima  Valley,  Washington. 


Fig.  21.— Chain  and  Bucket  Operated  by  Current  Wheel. 


o 


LIST  OF  PUBLICATIONS  OF  THE  OFFICE  OF  EXPERIMENT  STATIONS  ON 
IRRIGATION  AND  DRAINAGE-Continued. 

Bui.  124.  Report  of  Irrigation  Investigations  in  Utah,  under  the  direction  of  Elwood 
Mead,  chic1!',  assisted  by  R.  P.  Teele,  A.  P.  Stover,  A.  F.  Doremus,  J.  D. 
Stannard,  Frank  Adams,  and  G.  L.  Swendsen.     Pp.  336.     Price,  $1.10. 

Bui.  130.  Egyptian  Irrigation.    By  Clarence  T.  Johnston.    Pp.100.    Price,  30  cents. 

Bui.  131.  Plans  of  Structures  in  use  on  Irrigation  Canals  in  the  United  States,  from 
drawings  exhibited  by  the  Office  of  Experiment  Stations  at  Paris,  in 
1900,  and  at  Buffalo,  in  1901,  prepared  under  the  direction  of  Elwood 
Mead,  chief.  Pp.  51.  Price,  60  cents. 
*Bul.  133.  Report  of  Irrigation  Investigations  for  1902,  under  the  direction  of  Elwood 
Mead,  chief.     Pp.  266.     Price,  25  cents. 

Bui.  134.  Storage  of  Water  on  Cache  la  Poudre  and  Big  Thompson  Rivers.  By 
C.  E.  Tait.     Pp.  100.     Price,  10  cents. 

Bui.  140.  Acquirement  of  Rights  to  Water  in  the  Arkansas  Valley,  Colorado.  By 
J.  S.  Greene.     Pp.  83.     Price,  5  cents. 

Bui.  144.  Irrigation  in  Northern  Italy.     By  Elwood  Mead,  chief.     In  press. 

Bui.  145.  Preparing  Land  for  Irrigation  and  Methods  of  Applying  Water.  Pre- 
pared under  the  direction  of  Elwood  Mead,  chief.     In  press. 

farmers'  bulletins. 

Bui.    46.  Irrigation  in  Humid  Climates.     By  F.  H.  King.     Pp.  27. 
Bui.  116.  Irrigation  in  Fruit  Growing.     By  E.  J.  Wickson.     Pp.  48. 
Bui.  138.  Irrigation  in  Field  and  Garden.     By  E.  J.  Wickson.     Pp.  40. 
Bui.  158.  How  to  Build  Small  Irrigation  Ditches.     By  C.  T.  Johnston  and  J.  D. 
Stannard.     Pp.  28. 


UNIVERSITY  OF  FLORIDA 


